明前雨前茶
明前雨前茶
- This article is about the zucchini vegetable. For the 1982 book, see Zucchini (book).
| i Squash | ||||||||||||||
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 Zucchini or courgette vegetable and spent flower on plant | ||||||||||||||
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| Cucurbita pepo L. |
Two Tondo di Piacenza Courgettes 
Two typical Courgettes or Zucchinis 
Ovary at the base of a female flower Zucchini (Zoo-Keen-Ee) (US, Australian, and Canadian English) or courgette (New Zealand and British English) is a small summer marrow or squash, also commonly called Italian squash. Its Latin name is Cucurbita pepo (a species which also includes other squash). It can either be yellow or green and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped vegetable. Unlike the cucumber it is usually served cooked, often steamed or grilled. Its flower can be eaten fried or stuffed. Culinarily, zucchini is considered to be a vegetable. However, biologically, the zucchini is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Zucchini are traditionally picked when very immature, seldom over 8in/20cm in length. Mature zucchini can be as much as three feet long, but are often fibrous and not appetizing to eat.
Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate in a temperate climate. As such, zucchini has a reputation among home gardeners for overwhelming production, and a common type of joke among home growers revolves around creative ways of giving away unwanted zucchini to people who already have been given more than they can use.
In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the courgette to be Britain's 10th favourite culinary vegetable. In Mexico, the flower (known as Flor de Calabaza) is preferred over the vegetable, and is often cooked in soups or used as a filling for quesadillas.
Closely related, to the point where some seed catalogs do not make a distinction, are Lebanese summer squash or kusa, which closely resemble zucchini but often have a lighter green or even white color.
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 Flower of zucchini | The zucchini flower can be male or female. The female flower is a golden blossom on the end of baby zucchini. The male flower grows on the stem of the zucchini plant and is slightly smaller than the female. Both flowers are edible. Firm and fresh blossoms that are only slightly open are cooked to be eaten, with stems and pistils removed. There are a variety of recipes in which the flowers may be stuffed, sautéed, baked, or used in a soup. |
Zucchini, like all summer squash, has its ancestry in the Americas. But while most summer squash--including the closely related cocozelle and marrow--were introduced to Europe during the time of European colonization of the Americas, zucchini is European in origin, the result of a spontaneously occurring mutation. In all probability, this occurred in the very late 19th century, probably near Milan (early varieties usually included the names of cities in the area in the name). Courgette comes from the French name of the vegetable, with the same spelling. It is a diminutive of courge, meaning squash. While "zucca" is the Italian word for squash, and the feminine plural "zucchine" is preferred in most areas of Italy, the male plural "zucchini" is used in other areas of Italy and the United States. The first records of zucchini in the United States date to the early 1920s. It was almost certainly brought over by Italian immigrants, and probably got its start in California.
[edit] NutritionThe zucchini vegetable is low in calories (approximately 15 food calories per 100 g fresh zucchini) but contains useful amounts of folate (24 mcg/100 g), potassium (280 mg/100 g) and vitamin A (384 IU [115 mcg]/100 g).
[edit] External links- Courgettes, Gourds & AuberginesA history from a Spanish perspective
- L.A. Times article on the Zucchini's connection to Los Angeles. (May require free registration)
- ITIS 22365 6 November 2002
————————————糊塌子 作者：冰清 星島日報副刊 2006年2月21日
糊塌子是老北京的一種特色小吃，就是用麵粉和西葫蘆攤成薄餅，做起來非常方便，而且味道極為鮮美。
糊塌子的主要原料是西葫蘆。 西葫蘆是瓜類蔬菜中食用較廣泛的一種，食法有拌、熗、炒、扒、燒、燉、燜、做湯、製餡、做罐頭等。西葫蘆營養豐富，每 500克含蛋白質4.5克、脂肪1克、碳水化合物16.5克、粗纖維l克、硫胺素0.05毫克、核黃素0.05毫克、抗壞血酸45毫克、維生素E4.45毫克、尼克酸1.5毫克、胡蘿卜素0.05毫克及鈣、磷、鉀、鎂等十幾種礦物質和穀氨酸等16種氨基酸等營養素。 西葫蘆還有清熱利尿、除煩止渴、潤肺止咳、消腫散結的功能。可用於輔助治療水腫腹脹、煩渴，瘡毒以及腎炎、肝硬化腹水等症。據研究，它還含有一種幹擾素的誘生劑，可刺激機體產生幹擾素，提高免疫力，發揮抗病毒和腫瘤的作用。此外，西葫蘆富含水分，有潤澤肌膚的作用。
具體做法
將西葫蘆洗淨，用擦子把西葫蘆擦成細絲；把雞蛋打入盆中，將盆中撒入適量的鹽，用勺子在盆中攪拌。當我們看到西葫蘆中水份出來了，把麵粉倒入盆中，用勺子在盆中攪拌，當麵粉變成比較粘稠的糊狀時，即成為半成品（如果覺得麵糊太稠，可放些水，依個人口味而定）。把平底鍋底部均勻地淋上一層食用油，用小火加熱。油熱後將調好的麵糊用圓勺舀入鍋中，成圓餅狀，用鏟子抹平，不要太厚。當底麵焦黃時，用鏟子翻過來，再烙幾分鍾。等兩麵都呈金黃色，糊塌子即可出鍋食用。如果吃的時候再佐以醋、蒜、醬油、鹽、糖、味精、香油等，那就更加美味了。
美國買不到中國那種較大的西葫蘆，隻有一種小的意大利瓜，叫 zucchini ，味道和中國西葫蘆差不多，但是要嫩很多，做的時候不要放太多水，因為瓜本身要出許多水。韓國店中也有一種叫“ Korean zucchini ”的，和中國西葫蘆很像，就是個頭小些，也可拿來一用。
